Kiev
is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central
part of the country on the Dnieper river. Since 2001, Kiev has officially
had 2,660,401 inhabitants, though this figure has likely grown to more than
3.5 million since then.
Administratively,
Kiev is a national-level subordinated municipality, independent from
surrounding Kiev Oblast. Kiev is an important industrial, scientific,
educational and cultural center of Eastern Europe. It is home to many
high-tech industries, higher education institutions, world-famous historical
landmarks. The city has an extensive infrastructure and highly developed
system of public transport, including a Kiev Metro system.The name of Kiev
comes from the name of Kyi, one of four legendary founders of the city (brothers
Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and sister Lybid). During its history, Kiev, one of the
oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of great
prominence and relative obscurity. The city is believed to have been founded
in the 5th century as a trading post in the land of Early East Slavs. It
gradually acquired eminence as the center of the East Slavic civilization,
becoming in the tenth to twelfth centuries a political and cultural capital
of Rus', a medieval East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the
Mongol invasion in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the
centuries to come. It was a provincial capital of marginal importance in the
outskirts of the territories controlled by its powerful neighbors: first the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, followed by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and,
finally, Russia. The city prospered again during the Russian industrial
revolution in the late 19th century. After the turbulent period following
the Russian Revolution of 1917, from 1921 onwards Kiev was an important city
of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, and, since 1934, its capital.
During World War II, the city again suffered significant damage, but quickly
recovered in the post-war years becoming the third most important city of
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Kiev remains the capital of Ukraine, independent since 1991 following the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
source:wikipedia
